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Re: The vaccines

February 21st, 2022, 7:40 pm

"Not anything like bankers then!"

excluded central bankers! (or included ;-?
 
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Alan
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Re: The vaccines

February 23rd, 2022, 5:43 pm

In the HG Wells version of the Russian invasion of Ukraine ...
                        From the moment the invaders arrived,
                        breathed our air, ate and drank, they
                        were doomed. They were undone, destroyed,
                        after all of man's weapons and devices
                        had failed, by the tiniest creatures
                        that God and his wisdom, put upon this
                        earth. At the toll of a billion deaths,
                        man had earned his immunity, his right
                        to survive among this planet's infinite
                        organisms. And that right is ours against
                        all challenges, for men do not live
                        nor die in vain.
Unfortunately, the Sputnik vaccine is not quite that ineffective.
 
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Re: The vaccines

March 15th, 2022, 4:26 pm

Norway basically removed all covid restrictions when infection rated peaked (and they did not know it was the peak), in other words during a massive wave of omicron. Bars have for weeks been packed with people, culture events sold out, people hugging each other, movies theatres packed. What happened is that quickly more got infected and then infection rates drop like crazy. Number of covid death slightly up, but according to the director of FHI (CDC of Norway, there is no increased death over all from normal years after opening)

loads of people I know had Omicron last few weeks, some even did not bother stay home (as no requirement for it). Health authorities assume risk for severe disease from omicron to be considerably smaller than for example Delta (personally I had confirmed delta months ago, and likely also omicron later)
Screenshot 2022-03-15 at 17.14.45.png
So omicron should likely be classified more like as similar to a cold or flue? this is how several health tops in Norway have talked about it recently. People start to be more out, get more D vitamins (if not been thought full about it). 

Sure new aggressive variants of this virus could always emerge where previous infection not have much benefit (unlikely but possible). Until then it looks like Norway and also Finland will come out of this with very low death numbers even compared to countries with much higher vaccination rates, and much much stricter rules.  
Death rate per million, worldometer

Canada 964
Norway 319
Finland 489
Sweden 1748
Italy 2603
USA 2965
UK 2378

What are the reasons for so big differences in numbers, how to count could play a role, D vitamin culture, general fitness of population, vaccination rates also, but this alone clearly not good indicator.

Some countries that had extremely strict restrictions now started to get big waves of covid, but yes better to get it when omicron, and also when hospitals and everyone know more than a year or 2 ago.
 
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Re: The vaccines

March 15th, 2022, 4:58 pm

New Zealand even much lower death numbers, 20 per m. They had very strict rules on travel, and good tracking and isolation of infected. Now when we almost have the blue print (at least so far) one could say right strategy to minimize severe disease and death was to be strict and prevent infections until Omicron. But in New Zealand I am wondering if also D vitamin could have played a important role.  72% European background, mostly from England, Ireland... that is one of the few countries  in the world where majority of population is originally (and genetically but cultural likely much more important) from considerably further away from equator, so they have moved to area with more sun exposure that culture over many thousand years have optimised itself to... perhaps wrong, perhaps something to that factor also...we will never know for sure.

New Zealand a tad lower vaccination rate than for example Italy.
Screenshot 2022-03-15 at 17.49.15.png
 
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Marsden
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Re: The vaccines

March 15th, 2022, 8:18 pm

I think just social norms about personal space play a big role. I know from my own travels that Italian conversational distance is equivalent to American starting a fight distance.
 
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bearish
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Re: The vaccines

March 16th, 2022, 3:06 am

There is an old Norwegian joke, well old as in several months old - it predates omicron: I’m really looking forward to getting rid of the “one meter rule” of social distancing, so that we can get back to the normal five meters!
 
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bearish
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Re: The vaccines

March 16th, 2022, 3:13 am

But, on a more somber note, as I read the statistics, the highest mortality rate in one major place (vague term) since the beginning of the pandemic is happening right now. In Hong Kong. It appears to be a total disaster, with a large unvaxxed population of really old people living on top of each other. And, in this case for good reason, not trusting the government.
 
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Re: The vaccines

March 16th, 2022, 9:46 am

Hong Kong still relatively low death numbers, 601 per m (worldometer).  Strict restriction have however moved the infection wave to this moment, it is dropping now and will likely drop fast. Very dense population, lower vaccination rates than many countries less dense populated, but over all over 70% some form of vaccination. I think they will still have much lower death numbers per m than for example USA, Italy (for several good reasons), but hard to predict, so who knows, let us see in august again.  
 
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Re: The vaccines

March 19th, 2022, 6:19 pm

Covid infection rates dropping very fast in Norway now despite basically no restrictions, the death numbers are lagging a bit. 

Time to socialise a bit (one are not obligated to become socialist for this reason, why bearish is hiding still?, he is to the right of right, in other words back in the left) , after all I had already Delta, likely also omicron...  funny I was taking a taxi the other day, the taxi driver was super aftraid off covid but was driving like mad, always close up in the back of car in front etc...some people get over focused on one risk forget other risk factors in life (we all do some times likely, but still)
 
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Alan
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Re: The vaccines

March 19th, 2022, 6:34 pm

In the US (and probably in many European countries as well), I think we can declare that so-called herd immunity has been achieved, where we define herd immunity to mean "almost everybody has some degree of Covid immunity". In the US, the percentage of the population with such immunity probably reached 90+% about a month ago. 

To see why, first consider that, as of Feb 25, 2022, the CDC estimates that 43% of the US population has contracted Covid: source.
(This figure includes an estimate that 58% of children under 18 have contracted Covid!)

This 43% figure is certainly higher as of today, and does *not* include people who have been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and have no history of infection. So, add -- well, set union really-- say 45% of the population with some degree of natural immunity to an overlapping group of 77% with at least one VAX jab, and you get my 90+% estimate. Not rigorous but probably in the ballpark.

Maybe we need a new national holiday.  :D
 
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bearish
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Re: The vaccines

March 19th, 2022, 8:51 pm

That sounds about right, but there are some questions about the efficacy of immunity gained from exposure to early variants with respect to the increasingly dominant BA.2 strain. Evidently its spike proteins are so different as to make the specific antibodies relatively useless, so you are mostly left with your T cells to fight back.
 
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Re: The vaccines

March 19th, 2022, 8:58 pm

"so you are mostly left with your T cells to fight back."

so become a T-Man
 A bad ass dude that takes no shit. 
An East coast goth influenced guitarist with a chunky metal sound. 
 in general, a dude you don't want to fuck with. 

run while u can "BA.2 strain"
 
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Paul
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Re: The vaccines

April 5th, 2022, 10:04 pm

3P+M

Yay!
 
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Re: The vaccines

June 16th, 2022, 7:45 pm

can we expect another booster for the fall?

Norways very relaxed policy seems to have worked relatively well 
Screenshot 2022-06-16 at 21.44.20.png
 
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Re: The vaccines

June 24th, 2022, 3:49 pm

.